I stared at the men before me, suspicion slithering up my body like a viper ready to sink its fangs into my flesh, injecting the venom of fear into my bloodstream.

Calm down, Jangmi. It could be anyone. There's no reason to assume it's one of them, I reasoned.

It was new for me to feel so afraid. Sure, I had the typical nerves that came with getting on stage for a performance, as well as the expected stress of attending such a prestigious and competitive school, but never had I experienced such a worry for my own safety.

The men before me were friends with Jimin. They were presumably close to him, which only made me more cautious. The writer had spoken as if they knew me, or at least knew of me. It was likely that Jimin had talked about me to them before—he had a knack for oversharing. It was possible that the writer might've learned about me through Jimin, or if they already knew me previously, perhaps they befriended Jimin strategically knowing that I would eventually show up and stick to his side.

Jimin's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Who's he?" His arm tightened around my shoulders, discreetly bringing me closer to him as his sights locked onto the obsidian-haired male named Taehyung.

"I invited him. We used to go to high school together. He just transferred here," the one named Yoongi said.

I glanced back at Jimin's face, noticing how wary his expression was.

"If you'd rather not have me here, I can leave. Just say the word." Taehyung's eyes were full of challenge as they set on Jimin's.

"No, it's fine. I was just surprised to see a new face, that's all," Jimin replied, fingers grazing over my shoulder comfortingly.

I cleared my throat, preparing to speak. All eyes were on me before I even began. "What do you guys normally do when you come here? Why go through all the trouble of getting into this place when you could hang out anywhere?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Jungkook raised a brow, his lips tilting up in one corner to reveal his bright teeth. "You were excited to sneak in here, it was all over your face."

"Okay, maybe it was a little exciting, but why come in from the sky loft? Aren't there other entrances?"

"Every other door has been boarded up to keep people out of here. The door you came in from is the only spot that's still accessible," Seokjin explained.

I glanced at him, immediately feeling the strength of his gaze as our eyes made contact.

He continued, "They decided it was a safety hazard so they wanted to keep students away, but supposedly they still plan to restore it one day. That's probably why they keep one area easier to access."

"If they're so worried about students getting in here, wouldn't they be sure to keep that one door locked?" I questioned.

"They do keep it locked," the man with lavender hair said. Namjoon, I think.

"Then how did you...?" I trailed off, seeing from their faces that none of them were keen on sharing the details with me.

"We have our ways. We're careful and we don't tamper with anything in here, so you don't have to worry," Yoongi assured.

"Who says I'm worried?"

Every man in the room chuckled, including Jimin. My head snapped to him, eyes narrowing in on the traitor's face. He looked down at me and his grin faltered at my accusatory stare.

Jimin cleared his throat, removing his arm from me. "Why don't we all just chill and let the newcomers get to know everyone?"

At the suggestion, shrugging shoulders and nodding heads filled the room. Only one of them stayed still, his eyes holding mine captive.

He's just going to keep looking at you like that until you talk to him.

Sighing, I said, "Jin, can we talk?"

The others watched us carefully, though none of them seemed surprised—which bothered me more than it should have. They were strangers to me, yet they all seemed aware of the fact that Jin and I had some kind of history.

Shrugging it off, I walked with Jin to the edge of the stage before jumping down to the main floor. Hundreds of seats stretched ahead of us, each row rising higher than the one before. Upon closer inspection, I found that nearly every chair was worn and tattered, the once-vivid material on them now faded into a colorless red. Dust gathered on the arms of the lifeless seats, a mess of cobwebs hiding in their corners.

I could almost hear the applause that had once livened up the space, the faint sound of cheers echoing in my ears like a lost memory. Desperate to be remembered, the forgotten ghosts of the past audience slowly edged their way into my mind, and I had to shake them out as chills shot across my body.

My eyes lifted to the walls, gaining a breath of fresh air in comparison to the dreariness of the floor. Rather than muted colors and emptiness, I found vibrancy and life. The corners of the room were occupied by large golden columns, and in them were beautiful patterns carved to perfection. Arches of the same gold reached up to the ceiling where a world of warring humans and guardian angels was painted.

It was a shame that the lights throughout the theatre were flickering and dim, preventing me from making out every detail. The illumination they gave off was impressive considering their age, but shadows still danced and swayed around the room menacingly.

Stopping halfway up the middle aisle of seats, I turned to face the man I'd avoided for the past year. He was as stunningly handsome as I remembered. Maybe even more so, and I hated it.

"I don't want things to be awkward for us," I said, diving straight into it.

"I don't either," he stated while leaning against the edge of the chair behind him. He crossed his arms, staring at me unabashedly.

"Then why do you keep looking at me like that?"

His full lips smirked. "Maybe I like what I see."

Scoffing, I sent him a glare. "I'm not playing any of your games, Seokjin." I moved to walk past him, ready to go back to the others when he caught my wrist.

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry, alright? I just... it's good to see you, Mi." His voice softened with sincerity.

I looked at him warily. "I wish I could say the same," I whispered, noticing the hurt that tugged on his features. A pang in my chest followed. I still hated seeing him hurt. I hated hurting him even now, despite what he'd done to me.

"I want us to be friends. I want us to be okay again. Do you think you'll ever forgive me?" he asked, his hold on me tightening so faintly that I almost didn't catch it.

Heart rioting against the decision I was about to make, I spoke against my better judgment. "I'll try. I want us to be okay too, but you have to earn my trust back."

Then he was smiling and I had to will down the butterflies that tried to flutter within me, only for them to break free when Jin gently pulled me into his chest, enveloping me in his familiar warmth.

No. You can't feel this way from a simple hug, Jangmi. Remember what he did to you.

I pulled away after a few brief seconds, unable to meet his gaze. "Let's go back."

So we walked back down the aisle, seeing that the others were sat on the floor of the stage, talking. Their conversation ceased as they noticed us returning. I watched as Jimin was about to stand, but Jungkook beat him to it as he got up and went to the edge of the stage, holding his hand out for me. I could feel the careful stares on us as I accepted Jungkook's help. His forearm and bicep flexed from the strain of pulling me up, and once I was on the stage, his other hand came to the small of my back to steady me. His dark eyes searched mine for just a moment, then he let go and stepped away to offer Jin help as well.

The men that were still sitting had resumed their conversation by the time we rejoined the group. I chose to sit between Jimin and Yoongi. Taehyung sat near Yoongi, then Namjoon and Jungkook sat directly across from me, and Jin sat near Jimin. I watched them all carefully, trying to pick up on any odd behaviors that might be a clue to whether they were the writer or not.

To my surprise, they were discussing school. Taehyung complained about how he was forced to move out of his original dorm building due to some mistake, and he still didn't know how to navigate the campus. My mind was instantly put at ease, eager to accept an explanation as to why he'd been roaming my dorm area earlier that day. I didn't let all suspicion go, but I felt better than before.

Namjoon talked about how much he disliked one of his new professors, and Yoongi chimed in to agree.

"What are all of your majors?" I asked, curious to learn more about each of them. "I know Jimin is studying dance like me, but what about the rest of you?"

"Music Composition," Namjoon answered first, stretching out one of his long legs as he leaned back into his palms.

"Music Composition for me, too," Yoongi said quietly.

"I'm a double major. Theater and Dance," Taehyung said, his deep baritone still catching me off guard.

"Dance," said Jungkook, draping his arm over one bent knee. His chin was tilted up slightly, showing off his sharp jawline. I shifted my gaze away, but not before seeing the corner of his lip stretch upward.

"Theater and Vocal Performance, but you already knew that." Jin's voice was teasing, fully aware that he was hinting at our shared history. I shot him a glare, annoyed but unsurprised that he'd already acted out even after our little talk.

I searched each of their faces, once again finding that none of them seemed surprised or curious, save for Taehyung.

"You guys know, don't you?" My question hung in the air, tension slowly building until Namjoon chose to speak.

"Jin told us about you first. Then when Jimin joined our group, he mentioned you a few times, too. We've all known about you for a while now."

"Except me," Taehyung jumped in, meeting my gaze with a raised brow. "I don't know anything about you."

"What all do you know?" I questioned.

"We know that you and Jin dated for a couple years. He never told us why you broke up," Jungkook answered, pausing until my eyes met his. "We know you grew up with Jimin since you were kids and that you're best friends. And we know bits and pieces of your personality, just based on the way they've talked about you and a few of the stories they've shared."

It was the most I'd ever heard him talk at one time, and goosebumps dotted my arms from the effect of his words. The way he spoke was simple and matter-of-fact, but there was this underlying feeling I picked up on, like there was more he left unsaid.

"You make it sound so creepy," Jimin frowned at him before turning to me. "I really haven't told them a lot, Jangmi. Just little things here and there. They know how important you are to me, that's all."

"And that we were in love," Seokjin chimed, disappointing me yet again. He was acting like he had something to prove.

"Jin," Namjoon said his name warningly.

"Debatable," I jabbed, despising that my ex brought this petty side out of me.

A few snickers carried through the air, then Taehyung put his two cents in, "Should've brought popcorn."

"Alright, let's just move on," Namjoon said, brushing a strand of silvery purple hair from his face. "Why don't we-"

He was abruptly cut off by a rattling noise that came from above us. Jolting up, we all exchanged glances before springing to our feet, running past the curtains toward the source of the sound. Our heads tilted upward, eyes setting on the same platform that we'd come in from.

"I don't see anything," Jimin said from beside me.

"They must've heard us and left," Yoongi said.

"They?" I asked, frowning at him.

He shrugged. "We think someone else comes in here too."

"Why do you think that?"

"We found a pair of dance shoes on the stage once. We left them there, then the next time we came back, they were gone," Jin explained.

"Do you know who it is?" I watched their expressions change into something more serious.

"No," Jungkook answered first.

"We think it might be that masked guy," Yoongi said.

"You mean the choreography student? Hoseok?" At the mention of his name, a few of them seemed to stiffen.

"Supposedly he used to dance all the time, but now he only ever does choreography. We think maybe he sneaks in here to dance where no one can see him," Jimin said.

"The guy with the mask? I saw him walking around one of the dance buildings earlier today. Does he always wear that thing? It's like a muzzle," Taehyung remarked.

Namjoon nodded. "Nobody has ever seen him without it."

"Why does he wear it?" There was no stopping the curiosity that blazed through me.

"Don't know," Jimin said. "He doesn't really let anybody get close to him."

"Has anyone really tried?"

All their gazes seized me. My question clearly struck a chord, especially in Jungkook and Namjoon, it seemed. They stared at me like they were surprised I'd even thought to ask such a thing.

None of them could find a proper response, and we fell into silence for a few moments. Though soon the conversation shifted and we returned to the center of the stage, my mind lingered on the question I'd asked. Even as the guys continued conversing over random topics, a single thought kept demanding my attention.

Maybe he's just waiting for someone to try.

• • •

A/N: Hope this was enjoyable for you! How do you feel about things so far? I'm still getting used to writing smaller chapters haha. Do you guys like the length of them or would you prefer them to be a bit longer?

I know things are still building and the pace is rather slow, but this story has a lot to do with atmosphere and subtleties. I promise you, there are already some hints sprinkled throughout the chapters ;) And for those of you wanting to see more of Hoseok, don't worry! He'll be in the next one.

I hope you're all doing well and staying safe right now. Things are crazy and I just want to stress the importance of taking care of your health and being careful, both for yourself and those around you.

Lastly, I want to say that I'm ever so thankful for you all. Whether you're a silent reader, a comment-spammer, or a friend, I really appreciate you ♡

March 18, 2020